Musical Levites -
Smith's Bible Dictionary

Almost
all of Christian "worship" and money is devoted to the belief that God
commanded instrumental worship in the sacrificial system. They claim that "Since
He has not changed His mind, what Christ ordained as A School of His Word
has been turned into "theaters for holy entertainment."

1 Corinthians 10 They sat Down to Eat and Rose Up To PlayGod
gave Israel The Book of The Covenant of Grace as that made by Christ to
Abraham. The Israelites engaged in musical idolatry of the
Egyptian trinity. God gave them The Book of The Law and Moses coultd
not atone for them. The Angle (Christ) led them but God said nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

Christ came to give REST to those who were baptized into Christ: [Gal
3]. There can be no racial distinction in the body of Christ who
rescued Jews along with the Abrahamic Gens
who were not so burdened.

The Gospel Promise: I Will Give you rest.
Jesus also that the kingdom of God does not come with "ovservation."
That word means "Religious Observations." Christ defined the Church of
Christ in the Wilderness to give the godly people REST from the normal
pagan seventh-day religious efforts to get their god's attention. The
command was to READ the Word and Rehearse or discuss the Word as it was
delivered to small group elders of 50s etc.

The LevitesAlmost
all Messianic Jewish and Christian "worship" and money is devoted to the belief that God
commanded instrumental worship in the sacrificial system. They claim that "Since
He has not changed His mind, what Christ ordained as A School of His Word
has been turned into "theaters for holy entertainment."

Joe Shulam:The Way of the Lord is not JewishGenesis 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; THAT the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. Acts 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Joseph Shulam:was Jesus and the church "Torah" observant and worshipped at the temple.

Messianic and musical christians insist that:Jesus Came Not to Destroy the Law but to Fulfil it.The prophecies are defined by Jesus as "CONCERNING ME." Fulfil is the prophecy that
A NEW NATION WOULD BE BORN IN ONE DAY. This purpose would be neither
Jewish nor Gentile in a racist sense but that ALL people be one.

Musical Worship Ministers claim the role of the Levites

The Levites were commanded by God to stand guard and execute any one coming hear any holy thing or place.

Modern Levites claim to LEAD you into the presence of God:
therefore, they claim the role of God in Christ standing in the holy
place.

If Moses used the Levites to replace the first born sons because they
executed 3,000 "brethren" who may or may not have been involved in
musical idolatry, be very careful before paying someone to impose a
"musical worship team" using the Levites as their pattern.

HOW DID THE LEVITES COME TO BE THEEXECUTIONERSOF THOSE WHO "CAME BOLDLY BEFORE THE THRONE OF GRACE?"

Temples--as
affirmed by David--were "houses" for people's gods: they were never
houses of worship. No singer or instrument player could enter into the
holy houses in the vilest pagan temple. Instead, they stood guard while
making a great noise--never called music--to warn people not to come
near any holy thing or place: the exception to the law is in David being
excused for eating the shewbread while starving.

We should note that Jacob had warned that we should not attend the
assemblies of the Levi Tribe. Priests
were not
"worship leaders" but often tyrants used to control the population
including collecting taxes which as with the tithe had its origin in
Babylon. Making war has always been something people lusted for.
Religion has always been the pretense even today.

Gen. 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brethren;
instruments of cruelty are [h3627 psaltery, weapon]
in their habitations. [stabbing, burning Belloto wage or carry on war, to war, to fight in war.

Caes. Gal. 1.2 incited by lust of sovereignty, formed a conspiracy among the nobility, and
persuaded the people to go forth from their territories with all their
possessions, [saying] that it would be very easy, since they excelled all in
valor, to acquire the supremacy of the whole of Gaul.

From these circumstances
it resulted, that they could range less widely, and could less easily make war
upon their neighbors; for which reason men fond of war [as they were] were
affected with great regret. They thought, that considering the extent of their
population, and their renown for warfare and bravery, they had but narrow
limits, although they extended in length 240, and in breadth 180 [Roman] miles.

This was the condition when David had destroyed all of the enemies and he had a host of Levites on his hand.

Gen. 49:6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret;
[counsel: don't look to Levi for a pattern]
unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united:
for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they diggeddown a wall.
Gen. 49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;
and their wrath, for it was cruel:
I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

The Qahal, Synagogue or Church of Christ was NEVER more than an
assembly to listen to the Word read in the same state it was delivered
through Moses. The godly people attended the synagogue because
the temple was not a house of worship. The tribe of Levi operated
the temple devoted to the worship of the starry host: there is no
record of them attending the Church of Christ in the wilderness.
Vocal or instrumental rejoicing including an elevated form of speaking
was outlawed from the synagogues. Therefore, they always
worshipped in spirit which always included instructioon in
righteousness and justice.

Therefore, no one who needed to know God's Will was ever deprrived from
the only Godly set-time-place to give attention to the Word of God: in
the New Testament that is the only meaning or act of giving attention
to God rather than performing certain rituals in the belief that people
have anything to give God as the works of their effort.

Genesis 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise:
thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies;
thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp:
from the prey, my son, thou art gone up:
he stooped down, he couched as a lion,
and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come;
and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Nevertheless, God would use the Levites to guard all of the worship of the starry host from the godly tribes whom Christ consigned to their own Qahal, synagoogue or Church of Christ in the wilderness.

Consistent with the prophecy of Jacob, Moses assigned the Levites to
stand guard to prevent you from attending any of their assemblies or
entering into covenant with them. You see, if you use the
sacrificial system as a patternism along with the warning instrumental
music using the Levites as authority God GUARANTEES that (the
Revelation "locust" parable) that the godly people will flee from your
presence even if they have to leave their church family and
"investment" behind. Those who remain and affirm are dedicated to
destruction. The proof of a strong delusion where the
wolf-shepherds reject the "word as it has been taught" is marked by
lying wonders:

This
delusion led to the musical worship of the Egyptain trinity under the
symbol of Apis the real bull in Egypt and the golden bull calf in the
wilderness. In Exodus 31 they had refused to hear the Word of God
which outlawed musical idolatry and as a resulty of assuming God's
"silence" they fell from Grace and there was no redemption

Exod
32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow,and
offered burnt
offerings, and brought peace offerings;
and the people sat
down
to
eat and to drink, and rose up to play

"The triumphal hymn
of Moses had unquestionably a religious character about it; but the
employment of music in
religious services, though
idolatrous, is more
distinctly marked
in the festivities which attended the erection of the golden calf."
(Smith's Bible Dictionary, Music, p. 589). See Musical Idolatry at Mount Sinai

This
"rising
up to
play"
involved eating,
drinking, nakedness and musical worship. The goddess, Hathor,
is the best candidate for the Mother Goddess of the
Mount Sinai
idolatry. Here
priestessess or prophetesses were highly trained with musical instruments,
culticsongs
and be able to join in the religious
dance. See Of Miriam:

Titus 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Titus 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us,
by the washing of regeneration, [baptism]
and renewing of the Holy Ghost; [we receive A holy spirit]

LudoA. To sport, play
with any thing, to
practise as a pastime, amuse one's self with any thing, B. To sport, dally, wantonly Esp., to play on an
instrument of music, to
make or compose music or song: “carminapastorum,”

Exodus 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked;
(for Aaron
had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

Nūdo , to make naked or bare; to strip, bare, lay bare, expose to view, uncover (syn.: exuo, detego, revelo).1.
In milit. lang., to leave uncovered, leave exposed or defenceless, to expose a place to the enemy

2 Samuel 6.[20]
Then David returned to bless his
household. Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and
said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself
today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain
fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!
[21]
David said to Michal, [It
was] before Yahweh, who chose me above your father, and above all his
house, to appoint me prince over the people of Yahweh, over Israel:
therefore will I play before Yahweh.
[22]
I will be yet more vile
than this, and will be base in my own sight: but of the handmaids of
whom you have spoken, of them shall I be had in honor.
[23]
Michal
the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

Pl. Mos. 5.2 CALLIDAMATESIn the first place of all then, you know that I am the companion of your
son; he has gone to my house, for he is ashamed to come into your
presence, because he knows that you are aware what he has done. Now, I
beseech you, do pardon his simplicity and youthfulness. He is your son;
you know that this age is wont to play such pranks; whatever he
has.done, he has done in company with me. We have acted wrong: the
interest, principal, and all the sum at which the mistress was
purchased, all of it we will find, and will contribute together, at our
own cost, not yours.

Exodus 32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said,
Who is
on the LORD’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi
gathered themselves together unto him.

Here is what Moses commanded: Just what Jacob prophesied as their role.Exodus 32:27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel,
Put every man his sword by his side,
and go in and out from gate to
gate throughout the camp,
And slay every man his brother, and every man
his companion, and every man his neighbour.
Exodus 32:28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of
Moses:
and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

All Bible readers know that the "play" or "sport" word implicates what
happens in most institutes of religion. The sexual and homosexual
component is recognized by many writing about the persona of the
"worship minister."

Was this for collectiveguilt for engaging in musicalidolatry?
We know that if the blind follow the blind they both fall into a pit or hell.

Did they take names during this musical idolatry?

Was there some discernable identifying MARK on those who engaged in musical idolatry when they were commanded to REST on the Sabbath?

Chrysostom on Acts 7. "Not a word of
sacrifice till then:
and the first mention is, of the sacrifices offered to the calf.
In like manner, "they rejoiced," "the people ate and drank, and rose
up to play:" and in
consequence of this,
the feasts were
prescribed: kai
eufrainonto, fhsin: dia touto kai eortai.-'Epishmainetai might be
rendered, "he marks," "puts a markupon
it" (so the
innovator, who substitutes, touto kai Dauid epishmainomenoj legei): we take it
passively, "there is a mark
set over it-it is emphatically denoted." In the active, the verb
taken intransitively means"to betoken or announce itself,"
"make its first
appearance."-

For
He did not permit it to be done in any place of the whole world,

but in
Jerusalem only.
Anon, when for
a short time
they had sacrificed, he destroyed the city.

Had He
openly said, Desist, they, such was their insanepassion for sacrificing, would
not readily have complied. But now perforce, the place being taken away, He secretly withdrew
them from their frenzy." So
here: "Even the captivity impeaches
the wickedness (which was
the cause of
the permission of sacrifice.")

Doesn't the fact that the Levites jumped at the tasking of slaughtering 3,000 of the "brethren" validate Jacob's prophecy that we must NOT come into their assemblies.

Since
Moses made it certain that the Levites would kill you if
you attempted to participate in any of the later sacrificial system,
what do you think of people who use the Levites as their pattern to
impose--threateningly--musical worship groups using the Levites as
their pattern?

Exodus 32:29 For Moses had said,
Consecrateyourselves to day to the
LORD,
even every man upon his son, and upon his brother;
that he may
bestow upon you a blessing this day.

The Levites replaced the first-born sons:Consē^cro sacro, to dedicate, devote something as sacred to a deity1. Of persons, to elevate to the rank of deity, to place among the gods, to deify:2.
To devote or doom to destruction, to execrate, in laws, vows, and oaths, Cic. Balb. 14, 33

Anathema included any person or thing placed in a holy place and dedicated to God: it could not be redeemed and must be burned.
This separated the tribe of Levi from the other tribes of Israel:
Christ ordained the qahal, synagogue or Church of Christ in the
wilderness: they were restricted to their area and held holy
convocations which meant to READ and discuss the Word of God: that
pattern was not changed by Jesus.

Musical Worship Teams claim the
power "to lead you into the presence of God." And most song writers
think of themselves as inspired. Since there is only ONE mediator
between man and God, the man Jesus Christ, do they not stand in the
holy places and claim to be elevated to the rank of deity?

The whole nation (congregation) sinned because their leaders led them into musical idolatry and were executed.

Exodus 32:30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto
the people,
Ye have sinned agreat sin: and now I will go up unto the
LORD;
peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
Exodus 32:31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said,
Oh, this
people have sinned a great sin,
and have made them gods of gold.
Exodus 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--;
and if not,
blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Exodus 32:33 And the LORD said unto Moses,
Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

Making a golden calf was not the worst sin: they ROSE up (against God) to PLAY: this was musical idolatry
whicn meant to play instruments or play sexually: Aaron caused them to
make themselves naked. History defines this Egyptian worship of
Apis the living bull calf and the trinity of Osiris, Isis and
Horus. "Trinity" demands father, MOTHER and eternally infant
child.

Do you think you can rise up to play IF you have a good mental attitude?

God said that those who so blatantly refused to come before Him in
silence and reverence (rest) would NOT benefit from Moses' intercession.

Exodus 32:34 Therefore now go,
lead the people unto the place of which
I have spoken unto thee:
behold, mine Angel shall go before thee:
nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
Exodus 32:35 And the LORD plagued the people,
because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

God gave them kings in His anger to carry out the
captivity and death sentence imposed at Mount Sinai: not even Moses
could deter the penalty of feeding your face and your pleasure centers
while PRETENDING to be worshiping God.

THE TESTIMONY OF STEPHEN Who proves that God did not Command any of the Monarchy.

Acts 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto the
children of Israel,
A prophet
shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren,
like unto
me; him shall ye hear.
Acts 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness
with the
angel which spake to him in the mount Sina,
and with
our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
Acts 7:39 To whom our fathers would not obey,
but
thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again
into Egypt,
Acts 7:40 Saying unto Aaron,
Make us
gods to go before us [back to Egypt]:
for as
for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not
what is become of him.
Acts 7:41 And they made a calf in those days,
and
offered sacrifice unto the idol,
and rejoiced
in the works of their own hands.

If you can see it, hear it or smell it because it is produced by human
arts and crafts, this is your golden calf. You say to God that the
silly songs and sermons created by those you enable have more value
than the Word of God.

> Butthis
thing commandedI them,
saying,Obey my voice, and I will be your
God, and ye shall
be my people:and
walk ye in all the ways that I have
commanded you,that
it may be well unto you. Jeremiah
7:23

> But they HEARKENED NOT, nor inclined their
ear,but
walked in the counsels and in the imagination
of their evil heart,and
went backward, and not forward.
Jeremiah 7:24

Pind. I. 6 Just as we mix the second bowl of wine when the men's symposium is
flourishing, here is the second song of the Muses for Lampon's children
and their athleticvictories: first in Nemea, Zeus, in your honor they
received the choicest of garlands,Pind. I. 7In which of the local glories of the past, divinely blessed Thebe, did
you most delight your spirit? Was it when you raised to eminence the
one seated beside Demeter of the clashing bronze cymbals,
flowing-haired [5] Dionysus? Or when you received, as a snow-shower of
gold in the middle of the night, the greatest of the gods,
when he stood in the doorway of Amphitryon, and then went in to the
wife to beget Heracles? But since ancient grace sleeps, and mortals are forgetful
of whatever does not reach the highest bloom of skillful song, joined to glorious streams of words,
[20]
then begin the victory procession with a sweet-singing hymn for Strepsiades;

"The
triumphal hymn
of Moses had unquestionably a religious character about it; but the
employment of music in
religious services, though
idolatrous, is more
distinctly marked
in the festivities which attended the erection of the golden calf."
(Smith's Bible Dictionary, Music, p. 589).

This
"rising
up to
play"
involved eating,
drinking, nakedness and musical worship. The goddess, Hathor,
is the best candidate for the Mother Goddess of the
Mount Sinai
idolatry. Here
priestessess or prophetesses were highly trained with musical instruments,
culticsongs
and be able to join in the religious
dance.

"Music
and drugs were
co-consiprators in religious ecstasy. They may have used some product
of the sycamore fig which both intoxicated and induced an altered
state of consciousness. The ergo of barley was well known.

Acts 7:42 Then God turned,
and gave
them up [g3860 castout, put in prison]to
worship the host of heaven;

The Book of The Law was imposed because of musical
idolatry: Moses ordained the Levites to execute the idolaters and gave them the continuing task to bear the burden of the Tabernacle and the burden of their own iniquity. Their perpetual role was to stand guard in front of the Tabernacle and execute anyone trying to come near any holy thing or enter any holy place.

The patternism of the Levites under the King and Commanders of the army
is God's MARK of people who will hurt you if you question their
authority.
After the wars were over, the
"military-industrial complex" had a surplus of men without any
jobs. David did what others did after the wars were over.
Much of the work in Jerusalem in the latter ages was Herod putting the
Jews to work to keep them from rebelling.

It is as easy as reading 101 to understand that the Levites were
controlled by the Military branch which exists in most nation-states:

1Chronicles 25:1 Moreover David [King] and the captains of the host [Army] separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals:

Thousands
of
twanging bow strings, harps and ram's horns were intended to
intimidate the enemy and turn them into cowards. These men were not
prophets of God. Remember Gideon? They were prophesying in the sense
that may have been their role in Egypt. When people make loud
noise and claim that they are speaking for a "god" they induce fear and
trembling. They dare you to deny that they are ordained by a god.

PHRASE: Aegyptius,
propheta primarius1. Aegyptius,2. Prophetai3. PrimariusI. one of the
first, of the first rank, chief, principal, excellent, remarkable, primariusparasitus

1. How to set Ambushment using the Levites.

2 Chron 20:19 And the
Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a
loud voice on high.

2 Chron 20:20 And they
rose early in the
morning, and went forth
into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat
stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his
prophets, so shall ye prosper.

2 Chron 20:21 And when he had
consulted with the people, he appointed singers
unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they
went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy
endureth for ever.

2 Chron 20: 22 And when they began to
sing and to praise,
the Lord set AMBUSHMENTS
against the children
of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and
they were smitten.

Ranah
(h7439) raw-naw'; a
prim. root; to whiz: -
rattle.

He mocketh
at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. Job 39:22
The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the
shield. Job 39:23

[The Rule of the Trumpets: the
trumpets] of
alarm for all their
service for the [ . . . ] for their commissioned men, 17[by
tens of thousands and
thousands and hundreds and fifties] and tens. Upon the t[rumpets . . . ]

[ . . . ] )8[ . . . ] 19[ . . .
which ] 20 [,, . they shall write . . . the trumpets of Col. 3 the
battle
formations, and the
trumpets for
assembling them when the gates
of the war are opened so that the infantry might advance, the trumpets for the signal of the slain,
the trumpets of 2 the ambush,
the trumpets of pursuit
when the enemy is defeated, and the trumpets of reassembly when the battle returns.

2 Chron 20:23 For the children
of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir,
utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of
the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

2. How to set Ambushment to destroy your "contributers": Elisha's Harpists.

The sound of musical instruments is often to invite God to pour out His wrath. In the Elisha event you will note that as a man of
God He used the harpist as the mark of grave damage to the King-Priestly class. Jehoram
is of the hated Ahab-Jezebal thread and was hated by Elisha as a
spiritual opponent. When Elisha seemed to be forced into "prophesying"
he used a harpist to accompany the "sermon" which would surely destroy
all of the sources of tribute Jehoram wanted to fleece. This is
enacted when the preacher takes the role of king and clergy: God sends
the music which in almost all cases destroys the source of illegal
tithes and offerings from the OWNERS who are driven out by the music.

Jehoram
was the son
of Ahab and Jezebel. He had grown up with
the hundreds of
"prophets
of Asherah and
of Baal." Their
practice had been to play music, sing, dance
by bending the knee and
even wounding themselves. The Moabites ceased to be robbed by the Jews
in Jerusalem. Jehoram forced Elisha to prophesy against
Moab. When the harpist made the sounds, the Moabites were deluded
and destroyed one another. Jehoram was deluded into destroying all of
the productive means he intended to Rob.

There is nothing more evil than boasting about seducing people who pay
you away from their faith and practices. This is particularly evil when
a secret agenda is worked for a decade before the "musical worship
teams" suddenly appear driving away many of the owners. A sacred
promise is violated and the Musical "Levites" stand in the holy places
claiming to lead you into the presence of God.

Psalm 41 prophesied that they would first
define Jesus as Beliar or BeelZebul and then they were authorized to
attack Him: even setting ambush:

.........and the foot soldiers
shall stretch out their hands against the host...

and
at the sound of the alarm

.........they shall begin to bring down the slain.

All
the people shall cease their clamor,

.........but the priests
shall continue

.........to blow the trumpets
of massacre." - War Scroll

9

DSS: They have overtaken me in a narrow pass (gap) without escape

.........And there is no rest for me in my trial.

.........They sound my censure upon a harp

.........and their murmuring and storming upon a zither." Ps.41:11

THE AUTHORITY FOR IMPOSING THE "MUSIC" OF THE LEVITES EVEN WHEN EXCLUDED FROM THE QAHAL, SYNAGOGUE OR CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS.

Scripture often uses forms of parallelism to make it "impossible" to get deluded.

The SUBJECT is "He SET the Levites."

2Chr. 29:25
And he SET the Levites in the house of the LORD
[court]A. with
cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according
to the commandment
of David, and of
Gad the king’s seer,[star gazer]

B. and Nathan the prophet:
for so was the
commandment of the LORD by his prophets.

Moses SET the Levites to make
certain that no one not of the tribe of Levi came near or they would be
killed. God spoke through Moses in The Book of the Law which contains
no example of instruments used
in connection with the singular
Tabernacle of Testimony. The instruments of David had been organized to
help drive the enemy warriors into turning coward and running.
Making war was not the Worship of God. When David gave them a job
financed by stealing from the poor as God promised, they made loud
noise around but never INSIDE of the temple which would be built after
David died. This was not the Worship of God. If musicians want to
fleece the widows so then can compose and rehearse all week and then
"perform" in temple-like instutes that's what robbers and parasites do:
it is not the Worship of God.

Under
the King and Commanders of the Army they were SET up in ranks to guard
the not-commanded animal slaughter from any intrusion by any of the
civillians.
The loud crashing noise of blowing ONE NOTE on 120 trumpets and filling
in the sounds of dozens of harps or bow strings would not create any
respect for a Wholy Spirit God but would create the shock and awe which
would intimidate the poor frarmers into giving their best lambs.

2 Chroniclws 29: the PATTERNISM for saying that God COMMANDED the
preacher to impose musical Levites knowing that He would sow
discord and drive half of the "owners" out in wholesale and
professional grade sowing of discord daring God to "hate" him.

This Plague-Stopping Exorcism was under both the Priests and the Civil-Military.

2Chr. 29:26 And the Levitesstood
with the instruments of
David,
2Chr. 29:27 And Hezekiah commanded
to offer
the burnt offering upon the
altar.
And when the burnt
offering began,

B. the song of the LORD began
also with theTRUMPETS A. and with the INSTRUMENTSORDAINED by
David king
of Israel.

THE LEVITES WERE SET TO GUARD AND KILL ANY ONE NOT OF LEVI. The
"praise" word is the root for "lucifer" and means "to make yourself
vile."

BEFORE YOU BLASPHEME THE HOLY SPIRIT OF CHRIST BY SAYING THAT GOD
COMMANDED YOU TO IMPOSE THE ROLE OF THE LEVITES, TAKE A LOOK AT WHO
COMMANDED WHAT.

They STOOD in ranks: absolutely silentA. with
cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according
to the commandment
of David,
and of
Gad the king’s seer,[star gazer]

B. and Nathan the prophet:
for so was the
commandment of the LORD by his prophets.

B. the song of the LORD began
also with theTRUMPETS

They PERFORMED
A. and with the INSTRUMENTSORDAINED by
David king
of Israel.

No one can miss the point: the Instruments were played by the command of David--only.
Their Role as commanded by God through Moses was to stand guard and
make sure that no civillian came near the "holy" places or
things. They were never "Musical Worship Ministers" they made
sure that "you" never participated on the penalty of death.

There are parallel examples to warn those who would blaspheme.

God:Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built
before the porch, 2Chr 8:12

Even
after a
certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths,
and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the
year, even in the feast of unleavened
bread,
and in the feast
of
weeks,
and in the feast
of
tabernacles. 2 Chr 8:13

David: And he appointed, according to the order
of David his
father, the courses of
the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister
before the
priests, as the duty
of every
day required: the porters also
by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of
God commanded. 2Chr 8:14

"It
was by the hand or
commandment of the
Lord
and his prophets
that the Levites should praise the Lord; for so the Hebrew text may
be understood:

"and
it was by the order
of
David
that so many
instruments of music should be introduced into the Divine service."
(Adam
Clark,
Commentary on 2
Chron. 29:25).

Also Jehoiada appointed the offices
of the house of the Lord by
the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the
house of the Lord,

to
offer the burnt
offerings of the Lord, as
it is
written in the law
of
Moses,with rejoicing and
with singing,as it was ordained by David. 2Chr
23:1

THIS WAS NOT A PATTERN FOR ANY KING OF REGULAR WORSHIP.

In Exodus 32 Moses warned that the Levites should stand guard at the
gate of the Tabernacle to make certain that none of the sacrificial
system was witnessed by the non-Levi Israelites. God promised
that a plague would break out if they violated that quarantinee.

However, Manasseh was in between his father, Ahaz and his son, Manasseh
both of which made the pagan worship avaliable to the people by putting
things of worship in the courts.

2Chr 28:1
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem:but he did not that which was right in the
sight of the LORD, like David his father:

2Chr 28:2
For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel,
and made also molten images for Baalim.

2Chr 28:3
Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom,
and burnt
his children in the fire,
after the abominations of the heathen whom
the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

2Chr 28:4
He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

2Chr 28:5
Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of
Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them
captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into
the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.

When
Hezekiah began as king he had a city and temple so vile that not even
the "worship of the starry host" could be carried out. Hezekiah is
clearly said to have a political motive to prepare the city for an
expected invasion.

The Levites were not permitted to go inside any holy
place or handle any holy things while removing the garbage and instruments used by the Assyrians. Furthermore, Moses had assigned
them as guards--day and night--to execute any one not of the Aaronic
priesthood who came near or into any holy place. The Levites themselves would
execute any Levite who violated the law.
After cleaning out the garbage and burning down all of the pagan
shrines (churches) in the city, Hezekiah proposed
a plague-stopping
animal sacrifice. This was not commanded and was not the example
of any kind of regular worship pattern available to any preacher who is
not deliberately directing people into destruction.

This plague or wrath was promised by God through Moses if the Levites ceased to stand guard and let the king take animal sacrifices out from quarantine behind temple and city gates.
Notice that the Levites are not involved in the normal sacrifices: None of the godly Jews could attend.

2Chr. 29:20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early,
and
gathered the rulers
of the city,
and went up to the house of the LORD.
2Chr. 29:21 And they brought
seven bullocks,
and seven
rams,
and seven
lambs,
and seven
he goats,

for a SIN OFFERING
for
the kingdom,
and
for
the sanctuary,
and
for Judah.
And he commanded the priests the sons of
Aaron to offer them on the altar of the LORD.

WOULDN'T IT BE A TERMINAL SIN TO TURN "SCHOOL OF THE WORD" INTO AN ATTEMPT TO ATONE FOR THE SINS OF THE "PASTOR, STAFF AND CONGREGATION?"

2Chr. 29:22 So they killed the bullocks,
and the priests
received the
blood, and sprinkled it on the altar:
likewise, when they had killed
the rams,
they sprinkled the blood upon the altar:
they killed also the
lambs,
and they sprinkled
the blood upon the altar.

The Levites STOOD in military ranks and did not pluck a string.

SECONDLY IT WAS HEZEKIAH'S OWN IDEA TO TRY TO MAKE PEACE WITH APOSTATE
ISRAEL.Hezekiah wanted to invite the nation of Israel to come to Jerusalem to help protect against the threatened attack.

2Chr. 29:23 And they brought forth the hegoats
for the sin
offering
before the king and the congregation;
and they
laid their hands upon
them:

2Chr. 29:24 And the priests killed them,
and they
made RECONCILIATIONwith their blood upon the altar,
to make
an atonement for
all ISRAEL:
for the
king commanded that the BURNToffering and the sin offering should
be made for all ISRAEL

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE LEVITES ARE STANDING IN RANKS AND IN SILENCE.

Scholars
are divided over the meaning of the goats: we first hear of the demand
to make a scape goat offering to Azazel (the devil) after Nadab and
Abihu. Others connect the worship of the abandoned Jews to Dionysus which was the Sabazianizm or star worship.
Both the day of Atonement and the Scapegoat was imposed after Nadab and
Abihu went into a holy place to burn incense. The Scapegoat is
Azazel which in the contemporaneous literature is the Devil or fallen
angel who taught the holy Sethites how to form mixed-sex choirs, play
musical instlruments and "put on apparel" which claimed priestly roles.
This led to sexual an perverted sexuality and the "pattern" is defined by Paul in Romans 1.

PREPARATION OF THE MILITARY FOR THE HOLOCAUST

2Chr. 29:25
And he SET the Levites in the house of the LORD
[court] A. with
cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according
to the commandment
of David, and of
Gad the king’s seer,

B. and Nathan the prophet:
for so was the
commandment of the LORD by his prophets.

WHAT HAD GOD COMMANDED FOR THE LEVITES?

Levites under the King and Commanders of the army were SET in
the court. The command is not to play instruments or make any noise!

This is not a pattern for the ekklesia or synagogue of
Christ. If you are to be a singer or instrument player even in the
outer court the Levites will carry out their mission and kill you.

Numbers 1:47 But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.
Numbers 1:48 For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 1:49 Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi,
neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:
Numbers 1:50 But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony,
and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it:
they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof;
and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.
Numbers 1:51 And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down:
and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
Numbers 1:52 And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents,
every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts.
Numbers 1:53 But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel:
and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony.
This was the only command by God through Moses. When David made HIS OWN TENT the Levites did not carry it about.

Numbers 18:1 And the LORD said unto Aaron,
Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee
shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary:
and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
Numbers 18:2 And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee,
that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee:
but thou and thy sons with thee shall ministerbefore the tabernacle of witness.
Numbers 18:3 And they shall keep thy charge,
and the charge of all the tabernacle:
only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

II.
In partic., to lie out on guard, to keep watch, to watch. “legionesinarmis,” [Troups, Army, Implements of war, arms, both of defence and offence]Custōdĭa , 1. Usu. in plur. and in milit. lang., persons who serve as guards, a guard, watch, sentinel:II. With the access. idea of hindering free motion, a watching, guarding, custody, restraint, confinement.

H4931 mishmereth mish-meh'-reth Feminine of H4929 ; watch, that
is, the act (custody) or (concretely) the sentry, the post; objectively
preservation,
H4929 mishmâr mish-mawr' From H8104 ; a guard (the man, the post, or the prison);
H8104 shâmar shaw-mar' A primitive root; properly to hedge about (as with thorns), that is, guard; generally to protect, attend to,

Numbers 18:5 And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary,
and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath anymore upon the children of Israel.

I.
that with which any thing is bound, a band, bond, rope, cord, fetter, tie (cf.: catena, manica, compes).2.
Esp. in the plur., of the fetters of prisoners, and hence sometimes to be rendered prison; and vincula publica, the state-prison:

Numbers 18:6 And I, behold, I have taken your brethren
the Levites from among the children of Israel:
to you they are given as a gift for the LORD,
to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

The Lord's Service was to keep any Israelite or even a Levite from coming near any holy thing or into any holy place.
Num
18:7 Therefore thou and thy sons with
thee shall keep yourpriest’s
officefor
every thing of the altar,
and
within the veil; and ye shall
serve:
I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift:and
the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Custōdĭa , 1. Usu. in plur. and in milit. lang., persons who serve as guards, a guard, watch, sentinel:II. With the access. idea of hindering free motion, a watching, guarding, custody, restraint, confinement.

Their job under the King and Commanders of the army was to kill you if you "came boldly before the throne of grace."The Levites were not commanded to
use any "musical" device in front of the Tabernacle: because people
attended "synagogue" they already understood that if they came too
close to the outer tabernacle they would be executed.

"And,
behold,
I
have given the children
of Levi
all the tenth
in
Israel
for an
inheritance,
for their service which they serve,even
the
service of the tabernacle of the
congregation. Numbers 18:21

Service means "hardbondage" the same meaning as Abad or Apollyon the destroyer.

"Neither
must the children of Israelhenceforthcomenigh
the
tabernacle of the congregation,
lest they
bear sin, and die.
Numbers 18:22
Numbers 18:23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity:
it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations,
that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

WHAT HAD GOD COMMANDED FOR THE PRIESTS?

Numbers 10:2 Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them:
that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
Numbers 10:7 But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow,but ye shall not sound an alarm.
h4150 Moad the set-time-place for the synagogue beginning in the
wilderness the holy convocation on first and seventh days of festivals
came to be the synagogue each Sabbath.

When the synagogue was called by a trumpet sound it was most often to
hear the Word of God from Moses and the elders of small groups.
This pattern for the synagogue continued throughout history and was
exampled by Jesus.
7321. ruwa {, roo-ah´; a primitive root; to mar (especially by breaking); figuratively, to split the ears (with sound), i.e. shout (for alarm or joy):—blow an alarm, cry (alarm, aloud, out), destroy, make a joyful noise, smart, shout (for joy), sound an alarm, triumph.
The Command was the perpetual command that only the sons of Aaron could
blow the trumpets: this was never "music" but to signal events.
Numbers 10:8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets;
and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.

BY WHOSE AUTHORITY WERE THE INSTRUMENTS ADDED AND ACTUALLY PLAYED?
The PERFORMANCE was under both the Priests and the Civil-Military.

2Chr. 29:26 And the Levitesstood
with the instruments of
David,
2Chr. 29:27 And Hezekiah commanded
to offer
the burnt offering upon the
altar.
And when the burnt
offering began,

B. the song of the LORD began
also with theTRUMPETSA. and with the INSTRUMENTSORDAINED by
David king
of Israel.

The command of Moses was still in effect but it was not "instrumental music" in congregational worship.

The "congregation" is listed to exclude the civillians outside the gates.

Chronicles 29:28 And all the congregation worshipped,
and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded:
and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
2Chronicles 29:29 And when they had made an end of offering,
the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.

Making "one sound" with dozens of trumpets blowing one note and lots of
harps and cymbals beating is NEVER called a part of congregational
worship. The Gift of Jesus Christ is that we can "bow" to
His Word (only) as we glorify HIM with "that which is written for our
learning."

Because the NOISE was made only DURING the burning of the Goats; and
God had not commanded any sacrifices or burnt offerings, no one should
be surprised because God ABANDONED them to worship the starry host.
Those whom God had not abandoned attended the Church of Christ in the
wilderness and that never changed even after Christ:

Acts 15:21 For Moses of old time hath
in every city them that preach him,
being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

Jesus stood up to READ the assigned text and then SAT DOWN.
While the Levites stoodGuard and would execute
any person not of the Civil-Military-Priestly national systems, the
sounds also commanded anyone not playing or singing to WORSHIP.
Playing and singing is never called worship.

Daniel 3:5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer,
and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image
that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
Daniel 3:15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of
the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds
of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well:
but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of
a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out
of my hands?

THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST SPOKE ONLY THROUGH THE PROPHETS AND APOSTLES

The church is built up, edified or education ONLY on the Prophets and
apostles. Christ defined the future REST day in great detail and the
prophets repudiate all of the "music" as being the cause of people
hungering and thirsting and dying for lack of the Word of God.
Peter left a "memory" of his eye-- and ear-- witnesses and outlawed
"private interpretation" or further expounding.

Isaiah 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. Isaiah 1:11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. Isaiah 1:12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Isaiah 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Isaiah 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. Isaiah
1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from
you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are
full of blood. Isaiah 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Jeremiah 7:3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Jeremiah 7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying,
The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. Jeremiah 7:5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings;
if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; Jeremiah 7:6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow,
and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Jeremiah 7:7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place,
in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. Jeremiah 7:8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Jeremiah 7:21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. Jeremiah 7:22 For I spake not unto your fathers,
nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt,
concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:
Jeremiah 7:23 But this thing commanded I them, saying,
Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people:
and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. Jeremiah 7:24 But they hearkenednot, nor inclined their ear,
but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart,
and went backward, and not forward. Jeremiah 7:25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day
I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Jeremiah 7:26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: t
hey did worse than their fathers. Jeremiah 7:27 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee:
thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. Jeremiah 7:28 But thou shalt say unto them,
This is a nation that obeyeth not
the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction:
truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

If God commanded instrumental music
in worship, it is clearly the worship of the starry host: this was the
worship until God removed Israel and then Judah into captivity and
death. This sentence had been imposed because of musical worship of the
Egyptian triad at Mount Sinai.

Psalm 41 says that Messiah will be MOCKED with the "alarm" which was
outlawed for the syngagogue: that was vocal or instrumental rejoicing
and any elevated form of speaking.

The Levites the guilty people in the Dead Sea Scrolls and typified by the Levites who killed the literal passover:

2Chronicles 35:10 So the service was prepared,
and the priests stood in their place,
and the Levites in their courses, according to the king’s commandment.
2Chronicles 35:11 And they killed the passover,
and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands,
and the Levites flayed them.

2Chronicles 35:14 And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests:
because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night;
therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron.
2Chronicles 35:15 And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place,according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman,
and Jeduthun the king’s seer;
and the porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service;
for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(descendants of
Levi). Sometimes the name extends to
the whole tribe, the priests included, (Exodus 6:25; Leviticus 25:32;
Numbers 35:2; Joshua 21:3,41;) etc; sometimes only to those members
of the tribe who were not priests, and as distinguished from them.
Sometimes again it is added as an epithet of the smaller portion of
the tribe, and we read of "the priests the Levites." (Joshua 3:3;
Ezekiel 44:15;) The history of the tribe and of the functions
attached to its several orders is essential to any right apprehension
of the history of Israel as a people. It will fall naturally into
four great periods:--

I. The time of
the exodus. -- There is no trace of
the consecrated character of the Levites till the institution of a
hereditary priesthood in the family of Aaron, during the first
withdrawal of Moses to the solitude of Sinai. (Exodus 24:1;)

The next
extension of the idea of the priesthood grew out of the terrible crisis of Exod 32. The tribe
stood forth separate and apart, recognizing even in this stern work
the spiritual as higher than the natural. From this time they
occupied a distinct position.

The tribe of Levi was to take the
place of that earlier priesthood of the first-born as
representatives of the holiness of the people.

At the time of their first consecration there
were 22,000 of them, almost exactly the number of the first-born
males in the whole nation.

As the tabernacle was the sign of
the presence among the people of their unseen King,

so the Levites were, among the other tribes of
Israel, as the royal
guard that waited exclusively on him.

It was obviously essential for their work as
the bearers and guardians of the sacred tent that there should be a
fixed assignment of duties; and now accordingly we meet with the
first outlines of the organization which afterward became permanent.

The division of the tribe into the three
sections that traced their descent from the sons of Levi formed the
groundwork of it.

The work which they all had to do
required a man's full
strength,

and therefore, though twenty was the
starting-point for military service, Numb 1, they were not to enter
on their active service till they were thirty. (Numbers 4:23,30,35;)
At fifty they were to be free from all duties but those of
superintendence. (Numbers 8:25,26;)

(1) The Kohathites, as nearest
of kin to the priests, held from the first the highest offices. They
were to bear all the vessels of the sanctuary, the ark itself
included. (Numbers 3:31; Numbers 4:15; Deuteronomy 31:35;)

(2) the Gershonites had to carry the tent-
hangings and curtains. (Numbers 4:22-26;)

(3) The heavier burden of the boards, bars and
pillars of the tabernacle fell on the sons of Merari.

The Levites were to have no territorial
possessions.

In place of them they were to
receive from the others the tithes of the produce of the land, from
which they,

in their turn, offered a tithe (1% OF THE
FOOD) to the priests, as a recognition of their higher consecration.
(Numbers 18:21,24,26; Nehemiah 10:37;) Distinctness and diffusion
were both to be secured by the assignment to the whole tribe of
forty-eightcities, with an outlying "suburb," (Numbers 35:2;) of
meadowland for the pasturage of their
flocks and herds.

The reverence of the people for them was to be
heightened by the selection of six of these as cities of refuge.
Through the whole land the Levites were to take the place of the
old household priests, sharing in all festivals and rejoicings. (Deuteronomy
12:19; Deuteronomy 14:26,27; Deuteronomy 26:11;) Every third year
they were to have an additional share in the produce of the land.
(Deuteronomy 14:28; Deuteronomy 26:12;) To "the priests the Levites"
was to belong the office of preserving,
transcribing and interpreting the law.
(Deuteronomy 17:9-12; Deuteronomy 31:26;)

II. The period
of the judges. -- The successor of
Moses, though belonging to another tribe, did all that could be done
to make the duty above named a reality. The submission of the
Gibeonites enabled him to relieve the tribe-divisions of Gershon and
Merari of the most burdensome of their duties. The conquered Hivites
became "hewers of wood and drawers of water" for the house of Jehovah
and for the congregation. (Joshua 9:27;) As soon as the conquerors
had advanced far enough to proceed to a partition of the country, the
forty-eight cities were assigned to them.

III. The
monarchy. --When David's kingdom was
established, there came a fuller organization of the whole tribe.
Their position in relation to the priesthood was once again
definitely recognized. In the worship of the tabernacle under David,
as afterward in that of the temple,

the Levites were the
gatekeepers, vergers, sacristans,
choristers, of the central sanctuary
of the nation.

They were, in the language of (1 Chronicles
23:24-32;) to which we may refer as almost the locus classicus on
this subject,

"to wait on the sons of Aaron for
the service of the house of Jehovah, in the courts, and the chambers,
and the purifying of all holy things."

They were, besides this, "to stand every
morning to thank and praise Jehovah, and likewise at even."

They were, lastly, "to offer" --i.e. to assist
the priest in offering-- "all burnt sacrifices to Jehovah in the
sabbaths and on the set feasts."

They lived for the greater part of the year in
their own cities, and came up at fixed periods to take their
turn of work. (1 Chronicles 25:1;) ... The educational work which
the Levites received for their peculiar duties, no less than their
connection, more or less intimate, with the schools of the prophets,
would tend to make them the teachers of the others, the transcribers
and interpreters of the law, the chroniclers of the times
in which they lived. (Thus they became to the Israelites what
ministers and teachers are to the people now, and this teaching and
training the people in morality and
religion
was no doubt one of the chief reasons why they were set apart by God
from the people, and yet among the people. --ED.)

The revolt of the ten tribes, and the policy
pursued by Jeroboam, who wished to make the priests the
creatures and instruments of the
king, and to establish a
provincial and divided worship,

caused them to leave the cities
assigned to them in the territory of Israel,

and gather round the metropolis of Judah. (2
Chronicles 11:13,14;)

In the kingdom of Judah they were, from this
time forward, a powerful body, politically as well as
ecclesiastically.

IV. After the
captivity. --During the period that
followed the captivity of the Levites contributed to the formation of
the so-called Great Synagogue. They, with the priests, formed the
majority of the permanent Sanhedrin, and as such had a large share in
the administration of justice even in capital cases. They appear but
seldom in the history of the New Testament.